After battling cancer for more than five months, Myles Rice has prevailed.
The second-year Washington State guard finished his treatment for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and the school announced Thursday that Rice is cancer-free.
“The entire WSU Cougar community is so proud of you, Myles,” WSU’s athletics account tweeted. “Your strength, determination and positive energy is truly inspiring. A true leader on and off the court, as well as (WSU men’s basketball’s) biggest hype man.”
Rice announced in late September that he’d been diagnosed with cancer and would be sidelined for an unspecified amount of time as he fought the disease. He underwent chemotherapy treatment for months, but still attended classes and played an active role with his team. Rice warmed up with the Cougs before games and served as a motivating force from the bench.
Before his diagnosis, Rice was in line to contend for a significant playing role. WSU coach Kyle Smith had spoken highly of Rice’s potential and expected the 6-foot-2, 175-pound point guard to be a key contributor early in his career. Smith has said during the season that Rice is eager to return to playing form and make his college hoops debut.
WSU lost 75-70 to Oregon in the quarterfinal round of the Pac-12 tournament on Thursday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. Had the Cougs advanced, Rice would have joined the team in Vegas. WSU (17-16) is hoping to receive a bid to the NIT. The field will be revealed Sunday.
Rice redshirted in 2021-22 after arriving at WSU as a three-star recruit and a top-50 point guard nationally in his class, according to 247Sports.com. The Columbia, South Carolina, native played his prep ball in the Atlanta area. He averaged 19.1 points, 6 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.4 steals per game as a senior at Sandy Creek High in Tyrone, Georgia.